John 11 is filled with sadness—the sad news of a dear friend’s illness (John 11:1–3); the weeping over his death (John 11:19, 31, 33); the sisters’ lament that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been present (John 11:21, 32); and Jesus’ own tears (John 11:35).
But Jesus had delayed two days before starting His journey to Lazarus (John 11:6), even indicating that He was glad that He had not gone earlier (John 11:14, 15). This action was not from any cold-heartedness. Rather, it was to reveal God’s glory.
By the time we get to John 11:17–27, Lazarus had been dead four days. After four days, his body would already be rotting and, as Martha said , “ ‘Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days’ ” (John 11:39, NKJV). No doubt, Jesus’ delay only helped to make the miracle that followed even more astonishing. To raise a rotting corpse? What more proof could Jesus have given that indeed He was God Himself?
And, as God, as the One who created life to begin with—Jesus had power over death. Thus, Jesus uses this opportunity, that of Lazarus’s death, to reveal a crucial truth about Himself. “ ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die’ ” (John 11:25, 26, ESV).
Read John 11:38–44. What did Jesus do that supported His claim?
Just as Jesus showed He is the Light of the world (John 8:12, John 9:5) by giving the blind man sight (John 9:7), so here He raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43, 44), demonstrating that He is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).
This miracle, more than any other, points to Jesus as the Life-Giver, as God Himself. It provides strong support for John’s theme that Jesus is the divine Son of God and that, by believing, we can have life through Him (John 20:30, 31).
However, by the time we get to the end of this incredible story (John 11:45–54), in which many who saw believed (John 11:45), a powerful but sad irony unfolds. Jesus shows that He can bring the dead back to life, and yet, these men think that they can stop Him by killing Him? What an example of the foibles of humanity in contrast to the wisdom and power of God!
Supplemental EGW Notes
[Christ] wept at the grave of Lazarus, that He could not save every one whom Satan’s power had laid low in death. He had given Himself a ransom for many, even all who would avail themselves of the privilege of coming back to their loyalty to God. . . . When He raised Lazarus from the dead, He knew that for that life He must pay the ransom on the cross of Calvary. Every rescue made was to cause Him the deepest humiliation. He was to taste death for every man. . . .
He knew that He alone could rescue them from the pit into which they had fallen. He alone could place their feet in the right path; His perfection alone could avail for their imperfection. He alone could cover their nakedness with His spotless robe of righteousness. . . . He is strong to deliver. Help has been laid on One that is mighty. He encircles man with His long human arm, while with His divine arm He lays hold of Omnipotence.—Sons and Daughters of God, p. 25.
It was not only because of His human sympathy with Mary and Martha that Jesus wept. In His tears there was a sorrow as high above human sorrow as the heavens are higher than the earth. Christ did not weep for Lazarus; for He was about to call him from the grave. He wept because many of those now mourning for Lazarus would soon plan the death of Him who was the resurrection and the life. But how unable were the unbelieving Jews rightly to interpret His tears! Some, who could see nothing more than the outward circumstances of the scene before Him as a cause for His grief, said softly, “Behold how He loved him!” Others, seeking to drop the seed of unbelief into the hearts of those present, said derisively, “Could not this Man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?” If it were in Christ’s power to save Lazarus, why then did He suffer him to die?
With prophetic eye Christ saw the enmity of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He knew that they were premeditating His death. He knew that some of those now apparently so sympathetic would soon close against themselves the door of hope and the gates of the city of God. A scene was about to take place, in His humiliation and crucifixion, that would result in the destruction of Jerusalem, and at that time none would make lamentation for the dead. The retribution that was coming upon Jerusalem was plainly portrayed before Him. He saw Jerusalem compassed by the Roman legions. He knew that many now weeping for Lazarus would die in the siege of the city, and in their death there would be no hope.—The Desire of Ages, pp. 533, 534.
The blessed Bible gives us a knowledge of the great plan of salvation, and shows us how every individual may have eternal life. Who is the author of the book?—Jesus Christ. He is the True Witness, and He says to His own, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” The Bible is to show us the way to Christ, and in Christ eternal life is revealed.—Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 308.
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.